


A Shared Dream

by InkstainedGwyn



Category: Persona 4
Genre: AU, College Life, Established Relationship, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, and cute, boyfriends being supportive, music career, so much fluff you'll drown, two dorks figuring out what they want in life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-03
Updated: 2016-08-03
Packaged: 2018-07-29 01:12:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,738
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7664548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InkstainedGwyn/pseuds/InkstainedGwyn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>College AU. Yosuke's a popular performer in a local bar and Souji is his manager; Yosuke gets the offer of a lifetime, but it's not so easy on Souji. What do they <em>really</em> want, when it comes down to it? (No relationship angst, just general worry and feelings of inadequacy.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Shared Dream

**Author's Note:**

> 1) My streak of bad titles continues.  
> 2) Lots of fluff. This was a sort of catharsis piece for me; see the ending for more notes.
> 
> Here's my [tumblr](https://ohlookashinysquirrel.tumblr.com) if you want to poke at me.

“Name’s Yosuke Hanamura, thanks for sticking around to listen - I’ve got some demos up on a website, Souji’s got stickers with the address over by the bar. Stop by the site, give ‘em a listen, let me know what you think! As always, I’ll be back next Thursday, same time, same place. Night, everybody!” The brunette gave a wink and a wave, heading backstage to applause and cheers.

The crowd was more than adequate for a bar like Reno’s; Yosuke had been playing at the club every Thursday for a good six months now - since the start of their sophomore year in college - having packed a couple of open mic nights to the point where the owner took notice. Souji Seta - Yosuke’s boyfriend, roommate, and manager (insofar as Yosuke needed managing, mostly answering emails, keeping too-eager fans from overwhelming Yosuke, and making sure his boyfriend got paid) - handed out a few handfuls of the aforementioned stickers before leaving a stack on the bar and heading backstage once the crowd thinned out. 

As always, Yosuke’s face lit up when Souji stepped through the curtain - it never failed, no matter how busy he was or who he was talking to - he always had a smile for his silver-haired boyfriend. Tonight, he was packing away his guitar when Souji let the curtain fall shut behind him. 

“Well, partner?” The question that greeted him was always the same, too. Even if Souji had heard him play these songs more than anyone else, Yosuke always wanted to know what he thought.

“You changed the timing a little on “You Know You Will,” didn’t you?” When the brunette nodded, Souji smiled. “I like it. I think that’s exactly what it needed, I know you were playing around with it last week.” Yosuke grinned.

Souji tossed Yosuke a towel - the lights on the stage were always too warm, and the musician’s t-shirt was more than a little damp - and then handed him a cold bottle of water that he’d claimed from the bar. “How do you feel, though? You sounded a little hoarse during the encore.”

“Got a tickle.” Yosuke winced, rubbing his neck. “I’ll drink some tea when we get home.”

“Mhm. We’ll stop and get some honey-”

Just then, the curtain rustled, and Souji turned, about to ask whichever fan it was this time to give them fifteen minutes. When he saw an older gentleman in a suit, he paused; the man didn’t even spare him a glance as he headed over to Yosuke.

“Hello, Mr. Hanamura! My name is Hideki Ieda; I’m with Buoy Records and I just happened to hear your set tonight. You’re very talented, young man!” He held out a hand and Yosuke smiled, shaking it, even as he glanced over at Souji.

The silver-haired man cleared his throat. “Hello, Mr. Ieda. I’m Souji Seta, Yosuke’s manager. How can we help you?”

“Manager? Oh, I assumed-” A pause, as the man turned and gave Souji an overly cheerful smile. “Well, no matter.” He turned back to Yosuke. “I like your sound, young man. I think you have the makings of a rock star, and our label can help you get there!”

Yosuke blinked at this, eyes going wide; Souji looked stunned, too - although less surprised than his boyfriend, as he’d always known how good Yosuke was. He crossed his arms. “That’s very big talk, especially for an opening conversation. What sort of help are you offering?”

Ieda turned again to Souji, as Yosuke shot his boyfriend a grateful glance, and hmm’d at him; he hadn’t once addressed Souji directly, and it was more than a little annoying, although Souji wasn’t going to let it show, especially not when it might have an effect on Yosuke’s career. As expected, the man turned back to the brunette. “A record deal at the very least, and a tour - you’re so good that I need to think about how best to market you! If you’ll call me tomorrow evening, Mr. Hanamura, I’ll have more specifics!”

He held his business card out to Yosuke; Yosuke just smiled as Souji put out a hand, and Ieda was forced to hand it to the manager as the brunette spoke cheerfully. “Thanks, Mr. Ieda, I really appreciate the vote of confidence! Obviously, I’ll want to hear more, and obviously I won’t be making any decisions without talking them over with my manager, but-”

“Oh, of course, of course!” Giving Yosuke another fake-gold smile, Ieda laughed. “A boy with good business head on his shoulders, I know it’ll be a joy to work with you, in fact-”

His flattery went on for a few minutes as Souji got more and more impatient; finally - _thank goodness_ \- the curtain shifted again and one of the bar staff stuck their head back, nodding to Souji.

“Well, thank you so much for your time, Mr. Ieda.” Souji smiled - his ‘fake-gold’ smile was just as good as the record exec’s, and Ieda narrowed his eyes ever so slightly as Souji held out a hand. “Unfortunately, it’s closing time, and I don’t want to cause any problems for the staff, since I know they need to clean up and head home.”

“Oh, of course.” He shook Souji’s hand, albeit reluctantly, and turned back to Yosuke. “Remember, Mr. Hanamura, call me tomorrow afternoon!”

“We absolutely will.” Yosuke shook his hand again, and with a last glance at Souji, the exec left. For a few moments, there was silence; suddenly, Yosuke sat down, heavily, on the couch.

“Holy shit, Souji… _a record deal?_ Buoy Records, too! That’s where half our favourite bands are signed!”

Taking a seat beside Yosuke, Souji gave a small smile, putting an arm around his boyfriend’s shoulders. “I’m happy for you, Yosuke. Let’s see what they say tomorrow.” He’d carefully placed Ieda’s card in his wallet; he might not trust the man farther than he could throw, but this was Yosuke’s big chance, and he was going to do everything he could to make it work. Leaning over, he started to pack up Yosuke’s backstage bag, since they would need to leave soon.

“I didn’t like the fact that he kept ignoring you, though.” Yosuke frowned, putting his chin on Souji’s shoulder. “Head for business my ass - that’s all you. Hell, the only reason I know what to say at times like this is because I’ve listened to you so much.” Souji was a business major with a focus in law whose father was a diplomat; he’d grown up knowing how to handle people, which made him as good with management and publicity as Yosuke was with music. 

Smiling, Souji leaned over and gave Yosuke a light kiss. “Well, you deserve nothing but my best.” As they smiled at each other, he patted his boyfriend’s knee. “Come on, we don’t want to keep Chiho waiting, I know she’s going to want to lock up, soon. And we still need to get some honey for your tea.”

* * *

The next afternoon - they both had only morning classes on Friday - Yosuke spent almost an hour fidgeting with his guitar before flopping with a sigh onto the couch next to Souji’s desk, where his boyfriend was finishing up his homework. 

“Do you think it’s afternoon enough yet?”

Souji looked at the clock. “It’s a bit early, but I don’t think it’s too early.” He reached into his wallet, handing the card to Yosuke; the brunette blinked at him.

“You’re my manager, you should call him, right?”

This made Souji happier than he let show; he shrugged. “Ieda didn’t seem inclined to talk to me last night, you saw. I don’t want to reduce your chances if he doesn’t want to talk to me.”

“I don’t care.” There was a stubborn line to Yosuke’s jaw, and Souji could have kissed him for it. “You’re my manager, and I know you’ll talk to me honestly about whatever they say.” 

“All right.” Giving his boyfriend a smile that was as sincere as it was brief, Souji flipped out his cell phone. “Probably best for him to have my number, anyhow; I don’t want him trying to wheedle you into agreeing to things that we haven’t had a chance to talk about. I love you, Yosuke, but you’re too trusting.”

Chuckling, Yosuke poked his arm. “You trying to say I shouldn’t trust you?”

“I hope you know better.” They both knew that, if it came down to it, Souji would probably kill for Yosuke - not that the brunette would ever ask for such a thing. The feeling, of course, was mutual.

* * *

The call was long and involved - Ieda was actually only the mediary, a talent scout, and Souji found that the executives he ended up talking to were much more polite and less fake. After about an hour - Yosuke sitting at Souji’s knee the entire time, trying not to explode with curiosity - Souji thanked them, and hung up. 

“Well?” His boyfriend climbed into his lap. “What’d they say? Do they still want me?”

“Of course they do.” Souji chuckled. “The general idea is to sign you for a record and a tour, and if those do well, a longer contract. They said that Mr. Ieda was really impressed by your stage energy and presence, so they were thinking they’d market a short EP, get people interested, and then record your tour stops, make your first album a live one. They said we can talk about it over the weekend, give them our thoughts on Monday.”

Yosuke looked like he was over the moon, and Souji couldn’t really blame him. The two had been friends since the second year of high school, and boyfriends since their senior year; their mutual dream had always been this, for Yosuke to play music, and for Souji (who had a good ear, but had never learned to play) to be his manager. Souji had to admit that he was excited, too.

“Obviously, we’ll need to meet to negotiate a contract, and that could take a while. Once we give them a verbal agreement, though, they’ll start hyping you up, get people excited, maybe have a few live shows and short TV segments.” 

“Oh my god, partner…” Yosuke threw his arms around the silver-haired man, hugging him tightly. “Souji, it’s happening. I’m so excited!”

“I am, too.” Smiling, Souji stroked his hair. “It’s not going to be easy…”

“But we’ll do it together, which’ll make it fun. Right?” Yosuke smiled up at him, leaning in.

“Right.” Souji kissed him.

* * *

Souji called in with a verbal agreement that Monday, and they made plans to meet to start discussing the contract; Yosuke, meanwhile, was booked for some image sessions, as well as a meeting with the producers that had been hired for Yosuke’s EP. 

Souji knew it was going to be difficult - school was still in, and when Yosuke had tentatively suggested they wait until the winter break, which was a month and a half away, it was met with so much resistance that they both let it go. He would do whatever it took to make it work, though - Yosuke’s career wasn’t just the brunette’s dream, it was his, too - and he knew that the excitement overall (and his boyfriend’s in particular) would carry him through.

He underestimated how bad it would really be, however. He was taking business classes as well as intro law classes - even if he didn’t get his law degree, he knew that a basic understanding of the system would help him as a manager - and he also had to be at every one of Yosuke’s meetings, even the ones for image and production, because he knew enough about the business to know they’d try to loophole Yosuke at every possible turn, and he wasn’t going to let that happen. 

Yosuke was grateful for the support, but he wasn’t blind; he could see the wear and tear it was putting on his boyfriend, and one night he forced Souji away from the initial contract paperwork - which the silver-haired man had been reading over for several evenings - and onto the couch.

“Partner.” Sitting cross-legged behind Souji, Yosuke started to rub his shoulders, digging carefully into the knots in his neck. “You’re going to kill yourself.”

“I’m fine, Yosuke.” Patting his boyfriend’s hand on his shoulder, he nevertheless leaned back into the massage. “You’ve been busy, too, writing new songs.”

“Not as busy as you. I worry, you know?”

“I kno- sssss, _ow_ -” he hissed as Yosuke hit a particularly bad knot. “I know. And I’m going to be fine.” 

“We haven’t gone to bed at the same time in two weeks, and you still have to get up for earlier classes than I do.”

“Yosuke, I said I’m _fine!_ ”

The brunette froze, as did Souji; after a second, Souji turned around, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend. “Shit, Yosuke, I’m sorry. I just - this is it, your big break, our dream come true. I’m not going to mess it up, you know?”

“You’re not going to mess it up.” Yosuke rested his forehead against his boyfriend’s. “Even if you told me right now to give it up, and you had a good reason for it, I would, and you wouldn’t be messing it up.”

“I’d never do that. This matters too much to us.”

“I’m _just saying_.” Putting both hands on Souji’s shoulders, Yosuke pulled back; Souji could see the concern and the seriousness in his boyfriend’s usually-sparkling amber eyes, and he had to blink to keep the tears away. 

“All right. I just-” He took a deep breath. “Promise me this, promise me that you’ll do what’s right for you - I’m not going to try to force you into anything and I will _never_ ask you to stop doing something like this that you want to do. You do that, and I’ll support you through anything.”

Yosuke could see himself reflected in Souji’s silver eyes, and he nodded. “I promise, as long as _you_ promise.”

Exhaling, Souji smiled. “All right. It's a deal.”

* * *

A month later saw Yosuke’s name showing up more and more often on entertainment shows, with an interview here and there; he’d been in a few magazine articles, too, and his first big show was planned, two weeks before the end of the semester. This was it, the big test; if everything went well, the contract - which had finally been hammered out to both sides’ approval - would be signed. 

Two days before the concert, however, Yosuke came home from his afternoon music theory class to find Souji in a panic. He had at least four textbooks open in front of him, there were papers everywhere, and Yosuke didn’t think he’d ever seen his boyfriend so stressed out - even counting the last month.

“Souji, _partner_ , what’s wrong?”

Professor Shimizu moved my business theory paper up a week because he’s going to be leaving early for winter break - some kind of family problems. It’s due in class on Friday.” Friday was the day after Yosuke’s big concert.

“Isn’t that the proposal you started on last month?”

“Yeah, but I never got past the premise, not with-” He bit back the words, not wanting to sound like he was placing blame. “I got busy with other things.”

“With my contract work, you mean.” Yosuke frowned, looking at the dark circles under his boyfriend’s eyes. “Souji. How much more work do you have to do?”

“I-” He took a deep breath. “If I pull two all-nighters I shou-” A pause. “Shit. No, okay, if I pull an all-nighter and then come back right after the show-”

“ _Souji_.” Yosuke put his hands on Souji’s shoulders. “I know you want to go to the concert - hell, _I_ want you to go! - but if you need to work on your paper, well… you support my dream, but I support _you_. I’m not going to let my career wreck yours, okay? It’s just a concert. I’m not signing anything there. I don’t think I’m even set to do autographs, you know? They’re taping it, so I’ll make sure you get a copy…”

Souji started to argue and Yosuke bumped their foreheads together. “ _Partner_. Listen to me. It’s just one concert, right? You’ll be there for the signing, for the tour, for the album.”

Eyes closed, Souji gave a huge, shuddering sigh. “Yosuke… next semester is my Practical Applications class. The professor doesn’t even know how I’m going to manage that over skype, since it involves pair exercises and job shadowing.” As his voice grew more and more choked, he finally had to stop and swallow.

Yosuke frowned. “That’s the class that they only offer once a year? The one you have to pass before you can take upper-level business courses?” 

“Since they have to make arrangements with outside companies, yeah. I-” A pause. “We have two options, find you a temp manager for the tour, or I take a semester off. I… I think I’d rather go with the second one, it’ll give me time to focus on the tour.” Pushing Yosuke back, he wiped his eyes. “But you might prefer the first, since a temp manager would have more practical experience than I do, and we can’t afford to mess this up-”

“Souji.” Grabbing his boyfriend’s hands, Yosuke shut the silver-haired man up with a kiss. “Don’t. We have to talk about this, but not right now. Right now, you have a paper to write.”

“Yeah.” Taking a shaky breath, Souji looked up at the clock. “It’s dinner, so-”

“ _Write_. I can handle dinner, you know? You taught me how to make a very good curry, if I do say so myself.”

“The concert?” Souji looked anxious.

“I don’t need to practice until tomorrow morning. _Don’t argue_. You’ve been busting your ass for me for a month. Let me work for you for one night.” 

“...all right. Thanks, Yosuke, I’m just-” Souji swallowed. “I’m so lucky.” A small smile as he turned back to his books; Yosuke just placed a gentle kiss on the top of his head before hurrying to the kitchen before his boyfriend could hear him mutter,

“No, _I’m_ the lucky one.”

* * *

“Great show, Hanamura!” The set had just finished, and Yosuke was backstage, chugging a bottle of water, waiting to run back out for a two-song encore. As Souji hadn’t been able to make it, he’d been replaced for the night by Ieda - who looked more than a little pleased to be standing in, although Yosuke had made it _very_ clear that no decisions would be made that night until he could talk them over with his _real_ manager.

“Yeah.” Yosuke’s usual sparkle was subdued; it was the first time he’d ever come offstage without Souji waiting for him to tell him what he’d thought of the show, and nothing felt _right_. Outside, the applause continued, and the shouts and cheers continued to get louder; finally, the sound tech stuck his head around the curtain. 

“We’re ready for encore.”

Squaring his shoulders, Yosuke grabbed the neck of his guitar, glad for the chance to get away from Ieda, if for nothing else. Plastering a smile onto his face, he ran out; even as he waved and thanked the audience, he found himself skimming the shadows for a face he knew he wouldn’t see, a silver head amongst the crowd of strangers. _Great show, my ass. Souji would have known that something’s wrong, something’s missing_...

* * *

Souji, meanwhile, kept one eye on the clock as he edited his paper; it wasn’t the longest one he’d ever written, but he’d given it his all knowing that Yosuke would be just as devastated by a mediocre grade as he would by Souji missing the deadline altogether. Finally, an hour after Yosuke had been set to go on stage, he hit ‘send’ on a frantically-typed email to his professor, not even wanting to risk missing the turn-in the next day. Running his fingers through his hair, he grabbed his coat, hurrying downstairs to find a taxi - _if I’m lucky, I might make the encore_.

The backstage guard nodded when Souji showed his ID - _Yosuke must have put me on the list_ , he thought, gratefully - and pointed down the hall. “Show’s just finished.”

Exhaling in disappointment, Souji thanked him, then hurried towards the door that said “Dressing Room”. Putting his hand on it, he was about to push it open when he heard voices.

“-is a brilliant boy, he’s got so much potential, which is why I don’t think it’s fair to ask him to quit school. Besides, Yosuke, this tour is make-or-break. You and I both know this - Mr. Seta knows it, too. You need someone who can manage a tour of this size, someone with experience. There will be plenty of time later for him to learn the ropes, and-”

Souji’s stomach sank. As much as he hated Ieda, as much as he didn’t trust the man, he _knew_ he was telling the truth, even if it was out of self-interest. _I can’t manage a tour like this. Maybe I won’t learn everything I need to know about it in school, but I was_ supposed _to get experience over time, as Yosuke worked his way up into the public eye. He’s so good, though, I should have expected he’d get noticed so early on_ …

Squeezing his eyes shut momentarily, he turned around, not bothering to open the door; he couldn’t face Yosuke right now, couldn’t see the look on Ieda’s face. The door guard raised an eyebrow as he left.

“Done already?”

“Forgot something,” Souji lied, hurrying outside; grabbing the first taxi he could find, he went straight home.

* * *

Yosuke, meanwhile, seemed annoyed at Ieda’s comments. “That’s not up for debate,” he said. “We’ve already made that more than clear.”

“Of course.” Shrugging, Ieda straightened his jacket. “Of course, it can be something we work out down the road. Oh, don’t worry about your things-” Yosuke had started to clean his guitar, as he did after every show. “The afterparty will be starting soon, and-”

“Wait, what?” Yosuke raised an eyebrow. “Nobody said anything about an afterparty. I don’t have time to go to something like that, Souji has a-”

At this, Ieda’s annoyance finally sparked. “Hanamura, you need to stop doing everything because of Souji! He’s holding you back, don’t you see? You can do so much better without-”

This was enough to break Yosuke’s practiced stage face, which had been slowly eroding all evening. 

“ _Fuck off_ , okay? You don’t know Souji. You haven’t even _tried_ to get to know Souji. All of this crap about his being “so talented” and “not wanting to waste his potential”, well, it’s right, but you don’t even know that it’s right, you’re just spouting shit because _you_ want to take over. You’re not my manager, my producer, or even my company contact; I’m not _going_ to this afterparty, and I’m not going to sign _anything_ if I see you anywhere near my tour, my record, or my concerts again!” 

For a second, they stared at one another; Yosuke held his breath, not sure whether this was going to break his chances or not, but at the moment, he didn’t _care_. Luckily, however, Ieda just sniffed. “You’re an idiot, but if that’s the way you want it, _fine_.” He turned on his heel. “Don’t blame me, though, when _you_ fail, your boyfriend fails, your tour fails; you’re nothing, and you’ll be a has-been with a failed record while I’m still working with _real_ stars.”

“Oh, take your _real stars_ and shove them!” Yosuke clenched his fists while Ieda stalked out of the dressing room, slamming the door behind him. The brunette was worried, of course - but he also knew that Ieda was a little fish in a big pond, and he’d been warned by a few producers to watch out for his meddling. _It is what it is, and I’m not gonna let him talk shit about Souji. Souji’s worth ten of him, even if he_ is _inexperienced_.

Now that Ieda was gone, Yosuke no longer had a ride home, but that didn’t bother him. Packing up his guitar, he slipped out, making his way to the train station. It was a long trip, but Souji was at the end of it - and _that_ was better than any afterparty.

With line changes and the walks to and from the stations, it was nearly two hours before Yosuke got home; the only light on was the one in the living room, where Souji had been working frantically, so the brunette was careful unlocking the door. _Don’t want to distract him_. Putting his guitar down in the hallway, he hung his coat and scarf up and slipped out of his shoes. 

Going into the living room, he expected to see Souji frantically typing away; he was surprised, instead, to see his boyfriend sitting at the kotatsu, books all neatly put away. The silver-haired man was asleep, head on his crossed arms, and Yosuke smiled at the scene. When he leaned in, however, he saw tear-streaks on Souji’s face; frowning, he looked at the papers under his boyfriend’s elbow. They were university course listings, and they’d been circled, erased, re-circled, crossed out, and re-arranged so many times you could barely read some of the titles. Looking at Souji’s face from this angle, he realized that he wasn’t smiling, as Yosuke had originally thought; he was frowning, and the sight smote Yosuke’s heart. 

_This isn’t how things are supposed to be - this isn’t how I wanted it!_

Taking a deep breath, he pulled out his cellphone, going upstairs to make a call.

* * *

Souji woke up the next morning when sun hit his eyes; he didn’t want to wake up, he felt like _shit_ , but as he realized he was laying on something soft and warm - _didn’t I fall asleep at the kotatsu?_ \- he opened his eyes only to find that he was laying on Yosuke’s chest with the brunette’s arms around him. Lifting his head - even as his boyfriend’s heartbeat lulled him to the point that he just wanted to go back to sleep - he saw that they were on the floor, cocooned in a pile of what had to be every blanket and pillow or cushion in the apartment. 

When he moved, Yosuke woke up, rubbing his eyes; when Souji caught his gaze, the brunette smiled. “Hey, morning.”

Yosuke’s smile was enough to call an answering one to Souji’s face, but it hadn’t even fully appeared before he looked startled, pushing himself up. “Shit! You’ve got that interview today, we’ll be late, and-”

Before the silver-haired man could pull away, Yosuke tightened his arms. “It’s okay. It’s okay! I set an alarm. The coffee pot is prepped, there’s still some breakfast rolls left. We’ve got time.” He kissed Souji’s forehead. “I missed you last night, you know?”

The brunette’s last words were finally enough to break the wall Souji had thrown around his feelings from the night before. As his face crumpled, he buried it in Yosuke’s chest, starting to cry. “I can’t do it, Yosuke. I don’t think I can make the tour. I’ve got so many classes I have to take, and you need someone who has the time and knowledge to manage everything, and-”

Gently, the brunette pulled Souji up; when his boyfriend raised his head, Yosuke leaned forward, kissing him warmly, sweetly. “Souji. It’s going to be okay, I promise. Come on, let’s just go to the interview, and then we’ll talk, okay?”

Usually, Souji was the one taking charge; there were only a few times in his life that Yosuke had to step in - like when Nanako had been so sick, the first year they’d met. When he did, it was always enough to make Souji calm down and listen; he didn’t have any idea how it could be ‘okay’, but he _trusted_ Yosuke, so he nodded, laying his head back against the brunette's chest.

* * *

“Good morning, Tokyo! We’re sitting here today with Yosuke Hanamura, the new up-and-coming musical heartthrob who’s been taking Japan by storm - hello, Yosuke!”

Souji sat backstage, watching the interview on a monitor; it was a live broadcast, but even so, Yosuke looked ready for anything. He bantered back and forth with the host for a bit, but then, his face grew serious.

“I actually have an announcement to make. While I really appreciate the warm welcome everyone’s given me, I’ve decided to put my recording career on hold.”

Backstage, Souji froze, eyes glued to the screen.

“I’m not giving up music - it’s still very much a part of my life and always will be, and I’ll still be playing and writing songs, just like I was. I’ve just decided that I’m not ready to commit to this sort of endeavour. I’m still learning my sound, you know, and if I have other people come in and do this for me, tell me how to write or how to play and sing, I’ll lose track of it, of myself. I know I’m letting a great opportunity go, but I figure… sometimes you just need to fail to learn how to succeed.” At these last words, he looked at the camera, hoping Souji could see how earnest he was.

As Yosuke was speaking, an aide hurried up to hand the host a note; reading it, the woman raised an eyebrow. “Is that your only reason, Yosuke? Rumour says that you’ve got a boyfriend, are you sure _he_ didn’t have anything to do with this?”

Wincing inwardly, Yosuke recognized Ieda’s work - it was a last-ditch effort to try to stop the brunette from quitting, but it wasn’t going to succeed. As the audience gasped - with a few girlish shouts of, “No, Yosuke!” he gave an apologetic smile.

“Yeah, I do - sorry, ladies and gents. But if you’re trying to suggest that I’m backing out because of him, you’re wrong. I meant everything I already said, but I’m also quitting the tour because I can’t stand the idea of going without him. He’s my manager, but he’s still in school - just like _I’m_ still in school - and it would be impossible for me to ask him to keep up with classes and manage my tour and career without killing himself. And I just don’t _want_ to do it without him, it’s as simple as that. I played a show last night without him and it _just wasn’t fun_. The magic was gone.” A frown.

“We got into this business together, you know? I’m here because I want to play music for him. If everybody else is in the audience, too, that makes it better, sure - but if I had to pick one to focus on, it’d be him every time. And that’s _me_ talking, not him.” With a wry smile, Yosuke rubbed his nose. “He’s probably going to be really mad at me for this - he told me to go, you know - but he also promised me that he’d support me doing whatever I felt was best for me. He said he’d be waiting for me when I came back, but that - that’s not what’s best for me.”

The audience was silent at this; turning, he looked out at them. “I really appreciate everything, you know? But sometimes you have to pick what’s really important to you, and when that time comes for everybody, I hope you’ll always be able to know what matters the most.”

* * *

While Yosuke fully expected Souji to greet him backstage with an argument on his lips, in reality, his boyfriend just threw himself into Yosuke’s arms, hugging him tightly. 

“You’re not mad?” Yosuke couldn’t keep the worried tone out of his voice. 

Pulling back, Souji sighed. “Kinda, yeah, but I promised you I’d support whatever you decided, right? I’m just worried, because I never wanted to be the reason-”

“ _Stop_.” Yosuke looked around. “I don’t want to talk about this at a TV studio. Come on.” 

They headed outside; it was still mid-morning, so Yosuke bought a couple of melon pan from a street vendor before heading across the street into a quiet park. Finding a bench that offered a little privacy, he took a seat; he hadn’t let go of Souji’s hand, so he just tugged his boyfriend down to sit next to him before handing him one of the wrapped buns.

“Look, I mean, I'll tell you as many times as you need me to, but you’re not the reason I decided to quit. _My feelings for you_ were the reason - _my_ feelings, something _I_ have, this was something _I_ decided. Okay? I promise I will never, _ever_ , blame you for this. Do you believe me?”

Souji looked down at the warm roll in his hands. “I do. It’s hard, but I trust you, and I’ve always trusted you.” He looked up with a small smile, and Yosuke squeezed his hand. 

“It’s not about my dream, okay? It’s about _our_ dream. _Our_ dream was for me to play and you to manage. Sudden stardom, other people changing my music, headline venues? Maybe some day, but if we do that, I want it to be _us_. We. Not just me. _My dream_ was never to be a rock star, my dream has _always_ been to spend my life playing music for _you_. I’m still going to play, you know that. I just don’t mind taking it slow. It doesn’t mean anything if you’re not with me, after all.” 

Cheeks pink, Souji used a napkin to cover his face. “Jeeze, partner… you’re such a sap.” His voice was happy, though, and the brunette smirked.

“You love it, and you _know_ you’re the only person I’m ever a sap with.” He leaned in, kissing Souji’s neck; the silver-haired man bit his lip, trying not to shudder. 

“ _Yosuke_. Not here!” 

Chuckling, the brunette grabbed his boyfriend’s hand again before standing. “Then let’s go home. You’ve got class this afternoon, right? Did you finish your paper?”

Following Yosuke out of the park, Souji nodded. “Yeah, I emailed it last night.”

“Then skip class. Stay home with me this afternoon.”

Souji raised an eyebrow. “I thought that was what we were trying to avoid?” A chuckle.

“ _One time_ is okay, you know? I _missed_ you this month.”

“I missed you, too.” Smiling, Souji pulled out his phone to email his professor as they walked home, hand-in-hand.

**Author's Note:**

> 3) I'm fully aware this isn't how contracts work - I didn't write this to be 100% accurate to the music industry, though, and I didn't want Yosuke to get stuck with a broken contract.  
> 4) As I said, this was cathartic. Writing Thawing a Frozen Heart has stirred up a lot of old memories for me - when I was in HS and uni, I was big into my local music scene. I never played (although I was in band in HS), but I did a lot of PR for local bands, was good friends with a lot of them, dated a few musicians... I've had the music business hurt me many times, but I know not everybody who gets into it falls into the same traps, and I wanted to highlight that.  
> 5) I have no problems with stories in which one member of a couple goes off to follow their dreams and the other waits for them because they're okay with the dream being more important. Those are great. But I wanted a story in which the _relationship_ is the most important thing - or, at least, the dream they share together. It's okay to love someone _that much_.  
>  6) I needed the fluff and the perfect partnership between the two.


End file.
